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How Spatial Computing Is Powering the Robot Era
and events you're invited to in 2025!
Dave Haynes
December 05, 2024
Welcome to the final Viewpoints of the year, with news and investment activity covering the next generation of computing - brought to you by FOV Ventures.
This Month:
How Spatial Computing Enables the Robot Revolution - Our deep dive into why robotics represents the next major computing platform shift.
FOV in 2025. From Slush to Lapland - Our roadmap of exclusive industry events across Europe and the US.
Portfolio Milestones, From Five-Hour Gaming Sessions to award nominations - Celebrating our portfolio companies' breakthrough year-end achievements
Most ‘venture scale’ thinking is still constrained by 16 inch-screens and 105 keys.
At FOV Ventures, we believe that one of the next big, non-consensus opportunities is beyond screens.
Mainframes gave us processing power, desktop internet connected us globally, mobile put the digital world in our pockets. The next era of computing will seamlessly blend the digital world with our physical one.
This is only made possible by the convergence of enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer vision, edge and XR.
For us, with over a decade investing into spatial computing, it makes perfect sense that this extends into robotics. The technologies we've refined for understanding human logic and mapping human spaces are becoming the foundation for machines that can perceive, adapt, and interact with the real world.
While many still view spatial computing through the narrow lens of virtual reality, we believe its potential also lies in the practical application of these “mechanical brains” integrated into physical objects.
This shift is a huge deal - and it’s already happening.
Waymo, Google’s self-driving car division, uses several spatial computing technologies as part of its tech stack, including Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) for distance measurement, cameras for object recognition, Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), AI and ML in the form of computer vision for sensing and edge computing for processing, among others. They have increased paid weekly trips tenfold year-over-year, now reaching 100,000 trips per week.
That’s a staggering milestone. Cars are literally driving themselves, yet most of us are barely paying attention. During a recent trip to San Francisco, I found myself in the backseat of one of these vehicles, living out my childhood science fiction fantasy.
And soon, this won't be limited to Silicon Valley test beds. The UK's Automated Vehicles Act will put self-driving cars on British roads by 2026, marking another moment when life imitates art, as these once-fantastical ideas slip seamlessly into our everyday lives.
But autonomous vehicles are just the beginning. Cars, with over 100 years of using essentially the same shape and function, are a logical first mechanical outlet for this technology. What’s increasingly coming, though, is robots of all shapes and sizes — from humanoids to specialised machines built for every conceivable task for households, the workplace and in industry.
This is where spatial computing intersects seamlessly with robotics. Decades of progress in virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence have laid the groundwork for these systems to “see,” interpret, and interact with the world around them. In many ways, the sensory and processing advancements from spatial computing are the connective tissue that will empower robots to function in dynamic, unstructured environments.
The scale of this opportunity dwarfs previous computing paradigms. The global labour market alone represents $15 trillion, and the transformation extends far beyond automation into logistics, maintenance, design, and the very fabric of human society. This convergence will create multiple hundred-billion-dollar companies in spatial computing alone, as these technologies become the foundation for how machines interact with our world.
Having made our first two investments in robotics we’d love to hear from other investors and founders going deep in this space, and we hope the below encapsulates our thinking around why FOV is well placed to pick the winners in this sector.
FOV NEWS
Slush 2024 Recap
What a week!
A packed week kicked off with our Minus One event at Allas Sea Pool, co-hosted with Google, Wilson Sonsini, Cloudberry and Waselius. Highlights included Petri's fireside chat with Urho Konttori exploring the startup journey through Distance and Varjo, and Dave's MusicTech panel on fundraising dynamics with Fave and Best Nights VC. Great to connect with so many portfolio founders and fellow investors focusing on spatial computing and beyond!
FOV Ventures at Slush 2024
Going to Slush next year? Save the Date for Minus One 2025: Monday, November 17, 2025.
We’re getting ahead on booking you in for next year! So save the date and book your flights accordingly - especially if you missed out this time!
Beyond Screens Roadshow 2025
Join us in 2025 for an exclusive industry roadshow tailored for LPs, VCs, and friends investing in the next era of computing. Featuring insights and collaboration with some of the biggest names in tech, we’ll unveil a cutting-edge report spotlighting the latest trends and opportunities in areas like Spatial Computing, AI, 3D, and Robotics.
Our invite-only events will take place in key cities including London, Helsinki, Paris, Berlin, San Francisco Zurich, and more.
More details coming early next year!
DVRSTY Program Milestone
We've been supporting over 100+ diverse founders through our DVRSTY program over the past 2 years.
Stay tuned for DVRSTY #4 in Q2 as we're taking it to a whole new level. With increased resources and fundraising opportunities, this next iteration promises to be our most impactful yet.
Special Partnership Announcement
We're excited to tease an upcoming partnership with a major AI player that will bring exclusive benefits to our community. Think CTO workshop, early access to models, and much more. More details coming soon
Looking for more information about our events or want to participate?
FOV Portfolio News
Starstuff - incredible launch for Starstuff's beta. From the play tests: Average session time: 2,5 hours. Average session time of top 100 users: over 5h. Yes. Five, hours, per session!
Kubos won the Deep Tech Start Up of the Year award from TechWorks UK at last night’s award ceremony. This award honours a pre-revenue early-stage business showing significant promise through a combination of novel technology, good understanding of product-market fit and encouraging market traction. Read more about our investment in Kubos Semiconductors here.
Move AI, as always with the awesome demos and some live demos too
Graswald check out their live demo, showing how Graswald streamlines content production for brands.
ai|coustics launched Lark, their new studio-quality speech enhancement model, bringing professional-grade audio clarity through reconstructive technology. Awesome demo here!
Scenario announces multi-character consistency. An easy, streamlined workflow, you can now train custom models that generate multiple consistent characters
FOV Job Board
Move AI (London) - Sales Development Representative (SDR)
Doublepoint (Helsinki):
GEEIQ (London) - People & Operations Manager
ai|coustics (Berlin) - Team Assistant (Part-time, 50%)
Atopia Space (Remote/CET ±3) - Senior Unity Developer
Virtex Stadium (Remote):
Thanks for reading, we hope you have happy holidays and a joyful new year!